Good news for long term investors! The market is down!?

For a retiree like myself, with no income but my investments, a market like the one over the last couple of weeks can easily cause a bit of panic. If you extrapolate this trend, I could be working at Mickey D's within a few years. Consequently there arises in your gut the desire to sell. It is this instinct, and an inverse one in the booming market, that causes most investors to underperform the market averages.

Invariably, at times like this, my colleagues come by to visit, because they know I enjoy tinkering in the market. The conversation invariably goes something like this:

Them: How 'bout this market?
Me: Wow, a bit scary isn't it?
Them: Yeah, so what are you doing, selling?
Me: Oh, I'm just working my system of diversification, dollar cost averaging, and rebalancing, which at times like this mean I'm generally buying.
Them: So, you are optimistic? You're pretty sure that the market has bottomed?
Me: Well, I'm optimistic in the long term, but who knows if the market is near the bottom? I'm just trying to keep the emotion out of it and working my system.
Them: Well, I'm thinking of selling until I'm surer what the market is going to do.
Me: If you do that, I predict you'll start buying just when the market hits the next peak.
Them: Oh, no, I'll reinvest when I'm sure the market is on an upward trend.
Me: Right, I think that is what I just said.

It is amazing how consistently this conversation plays out with each market dip. And each time, I become more convinced that it requires a disciplined, mechanical system to me a successful invester. Trying to predict where the market is going over the short term is impossible and is a recipe for underperforming the market.

So, remember. Set up a diverse allocation that makes sense for you in the long term. Dollar cost average. Rebalance. Above all, don't try to change your system in times of stress. Particularly so, if all the "experts" are telling you it is clear where the market is headed tomorrow or next week. When all the experts are in agreement, they almost invariably are wrong.